of springfield



E. 0 CARTWRIGHT.

GRAPPLE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 28. 1919.

Patented N W. 25,1919,

INVENTOR E0. wrzwrzsqhfi ERNEST 0. CARTNRIGHT, OF SPRINGFIELD, OHIO,ASSIGNOR TO CHARLES F. GARDNER,

' 0F SPRINGFIELD, OHIO. A

, GRAPPLE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 25, 1919.

Application filed March 28, 1919. Serial No. 285,846.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ERNEST O. CART- wnieirr, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Springfield, in thecounty of Clark and State ofOhio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Grapples, ofwhich the following is a specification.

My invention has for its object to provide a grapplewhich is especiallyuseful in removing refuse from sewersfsumps and catch basins anddepositing the same in a tank wagon or other conveyance for removal to asuitable dump.

It frequently occurs that refuse of various kinds, such as bottles,parts of metal frames, rods, pieces of wood, tubing or other wastematerial find their Way into sewers, catch basins and sumps. It isdifficult to remove such articles from deep catch basins with theordinary fork or scoop now in common use and it is therefore one of theobjects of the present invention to provide a grapple fork device whichwill grasp the articles regardless of their shape and which hasprovisions whereby the grapple fork proper may be locked or held in itsgrasping condition while the refuse is being lifted out of the catchbasin and placed over the collection tank wagon into which it can bereadily released by the user.

Generally speaking, the device comprises a handle or pole, on one end ofwhich isfixed a fork, and to that fork a second fork is pivoted, thesecond fork being provided with a lever portion to which is connected anoperating rod that runs along parallel and in close juxtaposition to thehandle to near its upper or outer end at which deposit in thereceptacle.

The invention further includesthose novel features of construction andarrangement of parts which will be first fully described and then bespecifically pointed out in the claims and illustrated in theaccompanying drawing, in which plement. s V

Fig. 2 is a side elevation ofthe same.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail perspective view of the toggle grapplelever.

In the drawing, in which like numerals of reference indicate likepartsin all of' the figures, 1 is the handle which is made of a suitablelength and to which the fixed fork 2 is secured by having its tine 3fitted into the end of the handle, the handle being protected at thisplace by the usual ferrule 4. The fork 2 preferably has its tines curvedto one side as at 5 and the pivoted fork 6 is similarly curved at 9 inthe opposite direction, the fork 6 having its fingers deslgned to liebetween the fingers of the fork 2 when the parts are positioned as shownin Fig. 2 of the drawing. The fork 6 has a lever portion 8 which ispivoted at 7 to the fork 2. The fork 6 is operated from adjacent theopposite end of the handle 1 by a device consisting of a rod 10 whichconnects to the lever 8 and extends along the handle to near theopposite end ofthe same, at which place the rod 10 is connected to theend 15 of a handle 13, the handle 13 having aneye portion 14 to fitoverthe lugs 12 of the bracket 11 and is connected with the bracket by alink 17 that is pivoted at 18 to the catch lever 13 and at 19 to thelugs 12, the lever 13 being slotted at 16 to receive the link 17. Thearrangement is such that when the lever 13 lies as shown in Fig. 2, thecenter 18 is closer to the handle than the center 19 and hence any pullon the rod 10 serves to hold the lever 13 tighter against thehandle andthus looks, as itwere, the fork 6 in fixed relation to the fork 2 so asto hold the matter grasped between the forks without the necessity ofthe operator holding the lever 13while he is manipulating the load.

When the lever 13 is moved away fromthe handle, the fork 6 can be rockedon its pivot to open the same, thus positioning the forks Figure 1 is afront elevation of the construction of the lever 13 and its cooperaative connections, the operator can manipulate the device in the sammanner as if there were a simple rod-like handle provided as he does nothave to hold the lever 13 in place.

What I claim is l, A grapple comprising a handle, afork fixed in one endof the handle, a second fork cooperating with the first fork and pivotedthereto, a rod for operating said pivoted fork that extends along thehandle, and a toggle lever device mounted on the handle and connectedwith the rod adjacent .to the end'of the handle which isopposite thefork.

2, A grapple comprising a handle, ;a f ork fixed to one end of saidhandle, a second fork cooperating with the first fork and pivotedthereto, a rod for operating said pivoted fork, a collar on the handleadjacent totheend farthest from the fork,;a f handle member connectedwith the rod and including a yoke portion, saidcollar having lugsadapted to project tlriroughv said yoke portion, and a link connectionbetween said lugs, and said handle member, all being arranged wherebywhen said handle inember lies against said handle. the point ofconnection of said link with said lugs will lie in a different planethan that containing said yoke portion to thereby lock the'p'artssubstantially as shown and described; a

ERNEST O; CABTl/VRIGHT.

